We knew a Resident Evil 4 Remake was coming whether people liked it or not, but now it’s official with a swanky new trailer and everything.
Naturally, people are worried about how different Resident Evil 4 Remake could be compared with the original, especially when the combat was relatively modern compared to the older RE titles. Does an overhaul in graphics alone justify the Remake? Well, does that question matter if you’re going to play the crap out of it anyway?
Before we dive in, this title still has time to launch, so keep in mind our frequently updated lists of best PC games and best PC Game Pass games as well as our best Xbox Series X games and best PS5 games. If you haven't purchased the latest-gen of consoles, we highly recommend checking out our Xbox Series X|PS5 reviews. And if you're more into the imaginative play, see our best virtual tabletop software and DND tips pages.
Now, here’s everything we know so far about Resident Evil 4 Remake, from the release date and story to the gameplay and PC requirements you’ll need.
Resident Evil 4 Remake release date
The Resident Evil 4 Remake has been in the works for awhile, but we’ve finally got some solid information, including an exact release date. Resident Evil 4 Remake is slated to launch on March 24, 2023.
Resident Evil 4 Remake will be available for the PS5, and was confirmed back in June 2022 to arrive on other platforms, such as the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. However, it sounds like an Xbox One and PS4 release might not happen.
Resident Evil 4 Remake trailer
Resident Evil 4 Remake was given a new trailer at the Resident Evil Showcase in October. We saw first hand footage of Leon facing off against the nightmares of this iconic village; we even got a glimpse of the memorable boat sequence. We also saw spliced bits of gameplay, mostly made up of Leon walking through the village, opening doors, and looking around the environments.
Leon comes across a deceased police officer in a destroyed basement, and we saw Leon pull out his gun shooting at a terrifying zombie with his head completely snapped. At some point, he crouches to sneak past him, escalating the house to find a moment of freedom.
At some point we also see Leon contact an informant back at base before a series of infected monsters run towards Leon and cause him to jump through the window. We also get a glimpse of the very opening of the game, where Leon has to run through that familiar section of the village next to the burning bonfire.
We also see the iconic chainsaw man chase Leon throughout the village. The gameplay demonstration ends with Leon deflecting a chainsaw with his pistol. Classic Leon. We also see the classic inventory from Resident Evil 4 brought back. And of course, the Merchant is back. Why would they ever get rid of him?
What's most exciting about these trailers is that it highlights how different Resident Evil 4 Remake is going to be when compared to the original. Entirely new sequences, ones that seem far spookier, have been injected into this reimagining. This whole opening section where Leon is walking through a dark forest before stepping into a creepy basement is completely original. More stuff like this is highly welcome, and I cannot wait to see what it means for one of the best third-person survival horror games of all time.
Resident Evil 4 Remake story
If you’ve played the original, you know what Resident Evil 4 Remake is about. However, it’s entirely possible that some story elements might change, especially concerning the presentation, so let’s not assume anything yet.
According to a blog post, what we know so far is that “six years have passed since the biological disaster in Racoon City. Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been recruited as an agent reporting directly to the president. With the experience of multiple missions on his back, Leon is sent to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the president of the United States. He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the villagers. And the curtain rises on this story of grueling survival horror and rescue.”
This storyline sounds pretty identical to the premise of the original, which is what we expected. However, given how long the original Resident Evil 4 was, we might encounter a few twists and turns that we weren’t expecting. Capcom has a lot of wiggle room to flip the order of some events to make it feel fresh. Although, people just looking for a prettier nostalgia trip through RE4 might not be fans of that.
Resident Evil 4 Remake gameplay
The real point in question is how Resident Evil 4 Remake will play. Just from the trailer and what we know about Resident Evil 4, it already feels like a mix between Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 2 — at least in terms of the action and survival horror aspect.
We saw an interesting third-person shot of Ashley, the president’s daughter, which might mean we get to play as her in this iteration. Like how you play Sherry in Resident Evil 2, this could be a truly spooky and enjoyable section if done well.
We also see a shot of Chief Mendez in a trench coat and little hat, giving off extreme Mr. X vibes. It’s possible that he might have a bigger role in hunting you throughout the village and castle, which would be awesome.
There are also some shots of a revamped Luis and Ada. I hope that we get to play sections as both Luis and Ada. I’m also crossing my fingers that (*Spoiler alert for a 17 year-old-game*) Luis doesn’t bite the dust in the weird way that he does in the original.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any actual gameplay, apart from Leon walking around in cinematic fashion.
Resident Evil 4 Remake PC requirements
We have the official PC requirements for Resident Evil 4 Remake.
The minimum specs for Resident Evil 4 Remake require you to have an AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel Core i5-7500 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon RX 560 with 4GB VRAM or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB VRAM GPU. The recommended specs include an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7 8700 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon RX 5700 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. These are the same exact specs as Resident Evil Village, so we can probably expect the same level of performance.
Considering that the best cheap gaming laptops can run laps around that, you might be good for Resident Evil 4 Remake with an RTX 3060 GPU.
Outlook
I am super hyped for the Resident Evil 4 Remake. While the Resident Evil 3 Remake wasn’t the best, that spoke more to the quality of the original game than the remake. The original Resident Evil 4 is long as hell, and I’m hoping that Capcom not only sticks to the original’s length, but also adds in some much-needed diversity in playable characters.
